Women and Wealth: The New Era

Women in the 21st century have been changing the way we think about wealth—redefining a new era of asset ownership, affluence and security. According to Fast Company, women are set to be the largest beneficiaries in the current wealth transfer, controlling nearly $11 million in the U.S. alone. This data exhibits that women are rethinking how they attain a legacy, and that number is only expected to increase as financial literacy for women continues to become more prevalent.

A big contribution to women and the increase in their collective wealth has been education—education on the history of finance for American households, and conversations about how the contribution of household assets will evolve for a modern world.

When it comes to gender, the conversations have largely been focused on equality, rather than equity. The goal in finance for many years has been to give women the same as men: the same salary, same taxes, and the same cost of products. However – despite some of these shifts, men still disproportionally hold more wealth than women do.

While a push for women to attain the same salary as men is great, there is no doubt that many men still make more money annually than women do. Equality is an excellent steppingstone, but it doesn’t address the differences that make each person unique (and the different challenges that exist because of those differences). For instance, women take time off from work to raise children, which results in lost income and lower contributions to Social Security.

So how do women build wealth? Because women tend to invest more conservatively than men do, they tend to underperform in the market. A recent Fidelity study found that 60% of women are actively investing in the stock market, taking a proactive approach to market fluctuations. However, nearly 30% of American females that are 65 years are older are either poor or near poor. But how can this be? This is because while women take a more proactive approach to investing than their male counterparts, they don’t invest enough. This goes back to the wage gap and women being unable to invest enough money to reap the compounding wealth. And this is why women should consider working with a financial advisor.

Working with an experienced financial advisor can give them the opportunity to get equal returns, as well as, explore safer alternatives, which also offer great upside opportunity. Financial advisors are there to teach you about your options, the market, and answer any questions you may have, helping bridge the financial literacy gap. They act as a mentor to aid in your financial decision-making and ensure your strategies align with your goals.

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